Bryn here. The last few months have really flown by quickly, and before I knew it the spring semester at work was coming to a close and then suddenly (and gloriously) it was summer holidays! For me that means two months of uninterrupted paid holiday. The University even pays for me to go off and travel. So, here I am in Japan. I'll be here until mid-August. It's wonderful being reunited with Liz and actually getting to chat face to face, rather than on Skype or through txt messages.
Anyway, last weekend (my first weekend back in Japan) just so happened to be a three day weekend for everyone here (miraculously, that even included Liz!!), so we took advantage of it and spent two nights in Yosano (the town where we used to live after we got married). It was great fun catching up with friends and revisiting old haunts. It was particularly nostalgic for me, since we were staying in a (the only) hotel in town, which is in Iwataki - the part of Yosano that I spent my first four years in Japan in. When I first arrived in Iwataki back in 2004, it was an independent town in and of itself with a population of 6300 people, or thereabouts. A year or two later, it merged with two other neighbouring towns to become Yosano. I loved living in Iwataki so much. I was still living there when Liz arrived in Japan and she and our friend Jannie would come over to my place regularly. It is a place that holds many fun memories for us both really. So it was good fun being back there over the weekend.
Anyway, last weekend (my first weekend back in Japan) just so happened to be a three day weekend for everyone here (miraculously, that even included Liz!!), so we took advantage of it and spent two nights in Yosano (the town where we used to live after we got married). It was great fun catching up with friends and revisiting old haunts. It was particularly nostalgic for me, since we were staying in a (the only) hotel in town, which is in Iwataki - the part of Yosano that I spent my first four years in Japan in. When I first arrived in Iwataki back in 2004, it was an independent town in and of itself with a population of 6300 people, or thereabouts. A year or two later, it merged with two other neighbouring towns to become Yosano. I loved living in Iwataki so much. I was still living there when Liz arrived in Japan and she and our friend Jannie would come over to my place regularly. It is a place that holds many fun memories for us both really. So it was good fun being back there over the weekend.
We took the limited express train to Amanohashidate, where our good friend Toshiko picked us up and took us out for ice-cream in Ine (a town a good 40 minutes or so drive north of Iwataki). We used to go there often when we lived in Japan before, so it was fun, and it gave Liz a chance to practice her new-found penchant for photography. As Liz ran around taking shots and fidgeting with camera settings, Toshiko and I caught up over ice creams and reminisced over the good old days. It was funny!
After we finished our ice-creams and stuff, it started to rain a little, so we hopped back in the car and headed back to Iwataki, where the weather was better. Toshiko dropped us off at the hotel and waited for us while we checked in and dumped our bags, and then drove us to Amanohashidate (the beach) where we wandered around the touristy areas and again, Liz took photos and Toshiko and I chatted away, catching up on news and things.
We all agreed to have some chie-no-mochi, which is a specialty dish for that place. It's mochi with red bean paste on top. sounds pretty plain, but it's surprisingly nice. It was a hot hot day, and the cool mochi and cold (refillable) green tea were really refreshing. The little shop lady came over explaining to us that she had a new invention not the menu this summer - chie-gori, which is like a giant snow cone (shaved ice) with mochi and red bean paste at the bottom, and matcha syrup over the top. We decided to share one, so the lady happily brought us a big one with three long spoons and little serving dishes. It was goooood.
Toshiko and I chat while Liz takes photo after photo... practising her new skills
Look! This pagoda was built in the year 1500!
We all agreed to have some chie-no-mochi, which is a specialty dish for that place. It's mochi with red bean paste on top. sounds pretty plain, but it's surprisingly nice. It was a hot hot day, and the cool mochi and cold (refillable) green tea were really refreshing. The little shop lady came over explaining to us that she had a new invention not the menu this summer - chie-gori, which is like a giant snow cone (shaved ice) with mochi and red bean paste at the bottom, and matcha syrup over the top. We decided to share one, so the lady happily brought us a big one with three long spoons and little serving dishes. It was goooood.
Anyway, after a bit more wandering round, Toshiko had to get going, and Liz and I stayed around enjoying the atmosphere and nostalgia.
A couple of hours later we wandered over to the nearby seaside beer garden where we met up with our good friend Yoko (who was a bridesmaid at our wedding) and Hiroyuki. Ippei and Junko were originally supposed to come too, but they ended up being unable to make it that night, so we'll have another go late on. But anyway, it was great to see Yoko again. We had a fantastic night. Basically, at a beer garden you pay a set amount of money at the start and from there it's all you can eat, all you can drink until closing. I think we made a good go at it and got our money's worth! haha. I love beer gardens in Japan.
The next day was more wandering around (I got sunburned… surprise, surprise…) and in the evening, we met up with our friends Matt and Mario at an izakaya for an hilarious dinner. Liz and I both really love these guys. They're the kind of friends you just can't help but have a great time with. We laughed so hard. I realised how much I missed them actually. After dinner, they suggested we go do some karaoke, which Liz and I were keen as punch for, so we piled into Matt's little car and headed to Sky Karaoke and had a grand old time. My highlight of the evening was Matt and Liz's impassioned duet of "Total Eclipse of the Heart". hahaha… makes me laugh now just thinking about it. You've never heard two people scream (sing?) into the microphones the way these two did. And the facial expressions, ohhh the facial expressions!!! haha. Sadly, I didn't have a camera on hand to capture the moment for you all. Mario and I were in stitches.
Our hotel: The Hashidate Bay Hotel, "famous" for its herb garden - particularly lavender.
the rice fields in Iwataki were a beautiful green
it was a hot wait at Iwataki's tiny train station for the next train...
hot and sweaty. Thank god for the uchiwa fan!
Isn't Liz turning into quite the photographer!?
We paid a visit to Kono Shrine (supposedly the second oldest in Japan according to legend, and the place where Japan itself was created by the gods Izanami and Izanagi).
Getting closer to the shrine... still walking up the path...
And here we have arrived at the gate. Really, I make it sound like a hike, but it's not at all. It's only about 100 meters or so, but it's a pretty 100m, so I showed you three photos.
This is just inside the gate. 
chikuwa: reconstituted fish paste wrapped around a stick and cooked. YUM! seriously, yum!
squid and flying fish, splayed and dried overnight. Fancy a snack?
more dried fish delights! Actually, you know you've lived in Japan too long when these really do look yummy, as both Liz and I said they did!
Passionfruit flowers growing at the side of the road in Iwataki
Everyone needs a dried pufferfish wearing a sunhat! It's this season's "must have"
Our last day in glorious Yosano was quiet. We slept in (slept off the night before) and grabbed breakfast from a convenience store before catching the train back to Osaka.
It was a great weekend.
Osaka has been great too. I'll blog about that soon.
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